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One of my favorite websites is called FoundSF.org. It has such great articles about San Francisco and all of its colorful history. Sometimes when i am bored, i go to it to just read. My ancestors were some of the founders of San Francisco. I did not learn this fact until i was the age of 19, at which point i began studying San Francisco history as well as my own lineage.

When i came across this article this morning, i could not believe how perfect it was… like it was written just for me!

I have always had trouble understanding just how my ancestors lives influenced my own. It is several generations away and clearly lifestyles have changed greatly. But i feel the past. I feel my relatives around me. They push me to become a better person and to continue to be proud of the Koshland name as well as my closely related relatives. Continue reading →

Just to give you some idea of what a hot market that is highly inflated (if you ask me!) for housing sales… Check out these numbers….

Last year, 162 properties sold in the Bay Area for over $5 million.

AND In the 9 counties of the Bay Area, over 11,000 $1 million-plus properties were sold.

Now if you dont call that a sellers market… i dont know what is!

It does not surprise me though. If you want anything more that 2 bedrooms in San Francisco, you are looking at over 1 million dollars.

That is pretty crazy and ridiculous to me if you ask. I remember not very long ago, if you spent a half million dollars on a home, you were living LARGE. …But… that is back when being a millionaire was a big deal. Now i think you need to be a billionaire to really impress anyone these days.

So much for buying a house in my hometown in this lifetime! And… they wonder why people want or have to rent…? HELLO!! Some of us dont make a 7 figure salary… and never will. Thankfully, this is ok with me if this is our reality. As long as i have a roof over my head, running water and insulation, i am all good. That is as long as i am in my home of SF. even if it is too expensive for god! I am just going to enjoy it each day as it comes and hope that there are many before displacement is a reality for me too….

I was having a conversation tonight with a couple of friends about gifts and gift cards as well as exchanges and returns. After about 5 minutes of discussing the gift card industry and things associated with it (Specifically a gift card i received for christmas early this year. This was a gift card that came with a gift receipt.) We started to realize that there was Zero, 0, Zilch. Non, Nada reason for one to be included with the card.

Then we started to realize that with the implementation of Gift Receipts, even if paid for with cash, one can ever only get store credit or an exchange. With the gift receipt we can never prove that cash was spent on the item because they so graciously leave off form of payment so they can force you to contain the money within their company or store.

Once a gift card is purchased, the money has to go to the store. You can not change your mind and get any kind of refund anymore. People used to pay with checks and if you wanted to return something, and you paid by check, they would return to you cash. Since checks are practically antiquated, the only way to get your money back is to have the original receipt and within that first 7 days, you can free your money in what ever form that you chose to pay with.

Then we started to think about how many BILLION$ and BILLION$ of dollar$ that are floating out there in our wallets, our pockets, the dumpster, the sidewalk, the cushions of the couch etc. with a small remainder of credit on that very gift card that will NEVER be used. Just think about the amount of money that is generated on that odd remainder! That is technically our money still. But it is already with the company so they really are making a double double double profit. Profit from the initial gift card purchase and then the mark ups when spent on the items and then the unspent remainder. All benefiting the company and the company alone.

I remember years back when we didnt like something that we got, we could go back with the tags in place within the seven days and we could get some money. Nordstrom did this for MANY MANY years to many returners (and scammers) appreciation.

Now i think about how much money is going one way never to be able to come back if it is something we dont want these days.

Now I can definitely see the benefit of these gift card trading (buy and sell) sites as well as places like ebay and amazon to be able to resell your brand new perfectly unused unwanted item to retrieve some cash said item.

All in all, they are fleecing us dry by the looks of it in a lot of ways, that are less obvious than higher interest rates and inflation. There are the fees and the 1 way money flow… out of our pockets & into theirs. It is pretty scandalous and we dont even see it or realize it happening or at least the bigger impact of what these policies truly mean for them stealing our money.

So on this year of gift giving… Do your loved ones a favor… Just give them CASH for godsake! It is a different time than it used to be. It is no longer seen as lazy or tacky to give cash. It is only what we work our whole lives for! Cash=freedom so you are actually giving them the feeling of freedom when cash is given!

People are not judged by how much they spend, but on what they spend. Give your loved one the right to chose where that hard earned money should be spent. That way, A. the change stays with them and B. they will have a receipt showing that they paid cash incase they change their mind when they get home. The bottom line is you are at least giving the windfall to the one you are giving to and not some financial corporation for them to take over the free world with!

There was a time in the early-mid 90’s here in SF where this group would alter already posted billboards. They were BRILLIANT!! Considering the absolute greed and money based culture that has seemed to have taken our town hostage over the last decade, maybe it is time for us to get more proactive again. It has been proven time and time again, that the money makers want to exploit this beautiful city. And they do! It has been a tug-o-war since Yerba buena found gold between those that want to exploit her and cash in on her unique attitude and beauty, and those who help make up that attitude and beauty, the actual residents… especially the long term ones.

San francisco used to be both a place for old timers that had so many awesome stories and everybody in the neighborhood knew and a very transient population that are short-long-termers. I always used to say that this town either accepts you or it chews you up and spits you out. It is not your choosing. I still believe this is how the city used to be. It was the place that people would go to find themselves, or to work for a couple years or to play for a while. Most of them would not stay, but the ones who did, they were special. They were also very proud and steadfast locals. They did not need a lot more from life. This is about as good as it got. They tried to really work to keep the greed out.

This is a town that attracts greed, because one could sell out this town to no ends. However, if that were to happen, to start with it would never be the same town. It may look similar, but the soul would have gone. Only a cheap greed built shell that housed no heart and 0 soul! It is so easy to do though. We have helped to build what i consider my utopia. It is home. More than the home i even grew up in. Not particularly a neighborhood, but the city in itself. I always seem to take a huge exhale as soon as i reach home whenever out of town.

I am very nervous though. It is gentrifying right before my very eyes! From a sneak in job winning mayor to the costs of rent to the attack on Sheriff Mirkirami. It is very apparent what is going on here if we (whatever locals are left) kneed to begin to organize and fight back. We can not allow our city to be turned out for the highest bid just lying down! I know we have had to fight this fight before, but we can not just give up. This town deserves us to fight for her. She is so worth it!

CCSF just reported yesterday that the courts ruled against them and they may owe you some money!!

An insert in the San Francisco Examiner Monday listed 35 pages of names, and the amount owed, dating back more than ten years. Some had more than $2,000 headed their way.

If you believe the school owes you money, you have until June 25thto request payment. You must file a claim with the SF Community College Business Office, 50 Phelan Avenue, e103, SF 94112. Or call (415) 239-3760 and provide proof of your claim. The claim form is available online.

You had better do it soon too. They are only responsibility to hold it until the middle of June.